Game of Thrones

Hey readers!

As I think many of you know there are a lot of famous filming locations in northern Ireland and I believe it's due to the history of this place and its beautiful scenery which goes on an on beyond what eye can see. Of the big list of films and series filmed here one might stand out for you - Game of Thrones. It used many of northern Ireland's old castles and ruins of historical locations as well as old roads and places alike for filming. If you are a fan of the series you might recognize some of them as I will now tell you about our tour to famous Game of Thrones filming locations.

First we visited Audley's Castle. It was built in the 15th century and is located 1 mile north-east of Strangford, County Down. It is a three-storey, majestic structure that overlooks Strangford Lough and was named after its 16th century owner John Audley.

Audley's Castle was used in the Game of Thrones during season 1 as King Robert Baratheon and his retinue's arrive at Winterfell.

We also visited Castle Ward which has been called home since the 16th century by the Ward family. In GoT however the castle was the home for House Stark. At the castle you can actually practice archery in the same place as Jon Snow and also model some authentic Westeros attire and feast on a lavish medieval banquet inspired by the series.

 Heyy lovelies! Moi kaikille rakkaille!

The next place we got to visit is Inch Abbey Road. It was founded by John de Courcy in 1180 and set beside the River Quoile. This place is the site where the War of the Five Kings began in GoT. Also if you get lucky and visit this place on a sunny day you can see Downpatrick Cathedral as you watch the flow of the River Quoile. Downpatrick Cathedral is said to bet the place where St Patrick is buried.

 Peek-a-poo!! :D

The last place we visited is Tollymore Forest Park. It is the home for Whitewalkers in GoT. The forest is filled with unbelievable red woods and centuries-old stone structures. It also is the place where the Starks encountered their direwolves for the first time.

All an all this was an amazing tour! I am thankful to getting to experience this and also thankful for the people that were there with me! Love you!

Giant's Causeway

Hello readers!

All is well in Belfast. I am enjoying my time here so much. As I said in the previous post living here feels like a vacation and the wonderful people I have gotten to know make this experience even more magical. So greatful for you guys, you know who you are!

Okay, to the main point of this post! I want to tell you about our day tour to Giant's Causeway. For those of you don't know yet Giant's Causeway is an UNESCO-listed location made up of tens of thousands of basalt columns that were formed as a result of an ancient volcanic erruption. The sight is located in County Antrim on the north coast of northern Ireland. The columns are hexagonal and there are plenty of them which make the spot picturesque and looking like it is out of this world.

Our day started when a bus came to pick us up around 8:30. We drove past smaller towns and even on the bus as I looked through the window it seemed as I was watching an old film of a life in a rural British village. The scenery was beautiful as we headed towards the northern coast.

See this road framed by intricately bent trees? We got to make a little stop there and these trees are called Dark Hedges. This road is actually  used in Game of Thrones! Those of you who are familiar with the series might recognize it as King's Road. I'd recommend this place especially for GoT fans but for other people as well. The road is beautiful and other worldy and at least makes for an amazing picture!

The bus ride took around 2 hours and we finally reached Giant's Causeway. It is without a doubt something you have to experience yourself to believe. The hexagonal basalt columns and the view to the sea are breathtaking. Thankfully the weather was (surprisingly) not as bad as we are used to here in northern Ireland. Emphasis on not as bad, it still could with a little improvement. However, I'd still say Giant's Causeway is a worthy spot to visit no matter the weather though I'd pick a sunny day if there was one to choose from.

We learnt a lot about the history of the place, how it was formed and about the mythology linked to the area. For now I'll leave those things for you to find out since I am pretty sure you are more interested to actually see what the place looks like!

Lasty, I want to say a big thank you to the people who organised this tour for us and of course the people that I got to experience all of this with! This day will definitely be one to remember!

First thoughts on Belfast

I have now stayed in Belfast for a little over a month and I can only say I have already experienced more than I ever expected. During the first days here I made new friends of the people who are living in the same student accommodation as well as other exchange students and the friendliness of the people in this city has been more than I could ask for. The city itself feels homelike and warm. I am of course speaking of the atmosphere here - the weather is if not always, almost always rainy.

I was fortunate enough to arrive here with my best friend with whom we had a good chance to take a good scroll around the city center. We learnt the basics I need to live here: checked where the nearest restaurants and supermarkets are and figured out where I would have to take the bus to get to my school campus. As a city Belfast is I'd say a good size for a person like me who comes from a city of roughly 60,000 people. It is not too small and not too vast. Even though Belfast's population is over three times higher than the city I come from I learnt pretty quickly how to get from one place to another. The city center is small but not quite as small as in Rovaniemi so I still feel safe wondering aroung new streets and don't get too scared of getting lost (there's still a good chance though).

   Studying here is going okay so far. My field of study is business and accounting and my school mates are friendly just like I mentioned about the people in this town. Everyone is always ready to lend a helping hand no matter the situation. Living here feels like I am on a vacation which is obviously a big bonus. I have short school days and no work and that means I have more than enough time to explore this city and experience the life here.

All and all my first weeks here have been great. I still continue to learn about this city and its people everyday. There is so many new things to experience everyday that I can say I have not felt homesick yet. A big thank you for that goes to the friends I have gotten here and my friends and family in Finland who are constantly calling me to make sure I am doing alright.